Hmmm… Did this guy watch the right game? KG displayed more fire, more intensity, more energy, more spit than I've seen from him in a long, long time. He did not look intimidated. I don't think there's a player in the league who intimidates Garnett.

It's fair to say Cousins didn't back down from the KG or the Celtics. But I wouldn't dare say he intimidated anyone.

As for the mocking, I didn't notice anything directed at Garnett, but I did notice Cousins mock Nate Robinson's arm-flap after nailing a shot.

On Page 2, the Celtics are tired and silly.

The Celtics tried all night to get into Cousins’ head and while it might have worked in the first half, DeMarcus had a pretty solid second half, finishing with a respectable 20/6 line. Kevin Garnett was displaying his usual antics, doing his best to piss off Cousins while Rajon Rondo got himself a technical for two hand pushing Cousins on the sideline during a dead ball.

Speaking of KG and Rondo, maybe it’s a bit of an unknown bias – but sweet Sally in a hay field, the C’s antics are just tired and silly. From their bully like ways to their showboating to their over the top antics, it’s absurd. It’s the last thing you’d expect from a team so full of veterans.

My question to you – Will this reputation stick over time? When fans look back on this team 5 or 10 years from now, will the Celtics still be remembered as punks and bullies (similar to the 80s Pistons and 90s Knicks and Heat teams).

Rondo shoved Cousins because when he put his arm out to give KG some space Cousins threw it out of the way. I was pretty surprised no double tech.
Also the whole “Celtics antics” thing is so blown out of proportion. That one Rondo moment and KG clapping when defending Cousins? Is that really what people get worked up about?
I thought Cousins crying after every call acting like he is a HOF even though he hasn’t done anything in the league and is the second best player on the worst team in the West coast is an embarrasment

DRJ

Agree on all points.

http://profile.typepad.com/6p01156f5ebb21970c JD

Fans are going to see what they want to see out of their favorite teams and players…. but c’mon Sac fans, really? Cousins is an excellent talent and probably a future star, but the guy has some growing up to do: complaining to the refs more than Sheed, not getting back on defense, standing over KG after Garnett dove on the floor for a loose ball…. the guy is a bit of a punk.

SPC121

It’s kind of pathetic how much these two Kings writers are living in a dreamworld. Do they really think that a rookie intimidated KG? Really? I’m not even sure where to start on this one. Perhaps they don’t know what the word “intimidate” means? That’s my only guess. I can understand if they don’t like KG. I don’t like Kobe, but I’m not going to believe for a second that he is intimidated by anyone on the Celtics (and none of the Celtics are intimidated by him). If you’re a NBA player on the same level as KG, Pierce, Kobe, Duncan, etc. then you aren’t intimidated by any other NBA player. Period.
Also on a related note, can NBA writers get over the whole “Celtics and their antics” thing? The Knicks got into a fist fight recently, Gilbert Arenas brought a Gun to an arena, and Lebron James is having a Twitter fight with the rest of the world. Why is everyone so broken up over the fact that KG talks trash during a game. Boo hoo. The vast majority of players do it. Get over it.
Cousins, in case you were wondering, is handling the situation with Rondo and KG the way it should be handled (perhaps Stephen Jackson, Joakim Noah, and QRich will take notice). Here’s his quote regarding what happened with KG and Rondo:
“It was all in the game and it wasn’t nothing personal or dislike,” Cousins said. “That was the Celtics, and I was standing my ground. But it was really nothing.”

Mike Munger–Return to the Rafters

So basically what these pansy asses are saying KG was too mean to their overrated, heartless rookie. Cousins didn’t look like he wasn’t scared to me. The only time he tried to act like Billy Bad Ass was when KG was on the ground. And then he got punked by Rondo. Cousins is a broke mans version of Derrick Coleman.

jared

Hey. throw em a bone. Their team sucks. Theyre gonna hang onto whatever slim (or made up) positives pop up throughout the season.
Demarcus Cousins will be bloated and lazy like Coleman about 3 months after signing his first post-rookie contract. Let them have their fun while they still can.

daemian

but we’ll take him over here if he’s looking to get traded.

paul

I think this kind of talk about the Celtics has little or nothing to do with reality, and can be dangerous if it makes players on other teams, some of whom may in fact really be punks, feel like it’s ok to take shots at Celtics, the way Pietrus did.

http://thecbbg.blogspot.com Tessa

None of that would have been said had Sacramento won. But oh well- they lost.

kathy

what rondo did does not qualifiy as an antic. this team, they
‘re like brothers. they look out for eachother. was it an antic when rondo shoved artest during the finals last year? no. they stand up for eachother like a vet team

Nora

Really annoys me when players other than KG doing these things it is being ‘tough and intimidating’ but when KG does anything he is a ‘douchebag’ Hypocrisy at its finest

river

i know we all wear the green colored glasses here, but i have a hard time seeing this team in the same light as those pistons or knicks teams you mention. yeah, we have crafty vets who know all the tricks in the book, and we have guys who talk trash. but they’re legit hof’ers and as kathy so rightly pointed out, this is a true *team*. they don’t have guys who are mediocre skill-wise but do a lot of banging (i wouldn’t even put perk in that category). so no, i don’t think that tag will stand up over time. i think a lot of other players and teams are intimidated and frustrated by the celtics. because they come into your building and do what they want, all while they tell you about it.